To Aesthetix users

Patrick,

I'll address to things that you have brought up on this thread. First, the noise problem. I own a Janus and was hearing something very similar to your description. I replaced the 12AX7s in my phono stage with Kevin Deal's Platinum grade GT12AX7Ms ($35 each for lowest noise and microphony). They sound superb and have lowered the noise floor to levels below that of the stock tubes when new. I can't recommend these highly enough. After rolling in Teles, Bugle Boys, and some very nice Mazda chrome plates, it's clear that these GTs are everything that Kevin claims.

Second, I use both a Running Springs Duke and a TG Audio Bybee Sucker line conditioner. I have connected my gear to these in every way you can imagine. Currently, the JC1s are running into the Duke and the Janus and my Ayre player are hooked up to the TG Audio unit (it has full digital/analog isolation). Regardless of what I have done, the one inescapable conclusion is that the Janus benefits enormously from line conditioning.

Wow, swift batch of responses! My quartet of Tung-Sols arrived and they are now in the V1 and V2 positions as the unit warms up. I'll report shortly whether this has solved the noise problem.

Meanwhile, Jim and I have been playing phone tag... neither of us is easy to get hold of at the best of times...

And Lenny at Running Springs is gonna have a Duke for me to audition sometime soon, I hope.

Thanks everyone!

Patrick

Well, that didn't work.

Still the same chuff-chuff-chuff with buzz, louder in one channel than in the other.

I'm gonna move the Tung-Sols to V3 and V4 next. *sigh*... I have a feeling that this unit's going back to Aesthetix for a checkup.

Patrick

And a complete report on tube swapping...

V1 & V2

With the new Tung-Sols in this position, the chuff-chuff-chuff was audible in both channels, but much more so in the left channel, with the buzzing sound in both.

V3 & V4

With the original tubes back in V1 & V2 and the Tung-Sols in V3 & V4, the chuff-chuff-chuff was more even between the two channels, and the buzzing sound was inaudible. (!)

V5 & V6

With the original tubes back in V3 & V4 and the Tung-Sols in V5 & V6, the chuff-chuff-chuff was clearly audible through both channels, perhaps even louder, and the buzz was back.

V7

With the original tubes back in V5 & V6, and two of the Tung-Sols inn V7, the chuff-chuff-chuff sound is equal in both speakers (and on headphones), and quite loud - can easily be heard over the music. Now no buzz again (or much less)

V8

I have a bunch of NOS 6SN7s. I decided to try brown-base JAN Sylvania "Chrome Domes" from Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio (probably 1950s) in V8 to see if that made a difference. Once again, the original ECC83s went back V7.

One thing I noticed in each instance is that the tubes in the left channel were appreciably hotter to the touch than the ones in the right channel. Perhaps this relates to the fact the noise was louder in the left channel? EXCEPT in positions V5 and V6, where they were equally (really) hot, and again in positions V7.

Bafflingly, the chuff-chuff-chuff is now much louder in the RIGHT channel... completely opposite to before. I'm replacing the stock 6SN7s in V8 and turning off the unit.

Right now I'm flummoxed. I've emailed Jim with my results, and I have a feeling I'll be returning the unit to him, with PS.

I'm really frustrated. I had become convinced that the noise was due to bad tubes.

Best
Patrick

I applaude you efforts to try and resolve an issue as frustrating as this. I had a similar problem with another phonostage that tested my patience thoroughly. Buzz and hum were prevalent in both channels and after several experiments with cables and positioning (solid state unit so no tube swapping), the phonostage went back. Turns out it was an grounding issue involving the chssis. While the vendor fixed it, the whole ordeal left a bad taste in my mouth. It's no longer in my system. Sometimes you just have to move on.